Red Tide Study in Sarasota Examines Oil Human Health Effects

1. UNCW Science in the Region of Oil Spill Threat: Garnering Existing Federal Grant Resources to Address Monitoring Needs Red Tide Study in Sarasota Examines Oil Human Health Effects Summary: UNCW has large, active programs in the coastal waters of the United States that are in regions that will be impacted by the Oil Spill as it moves into the Gulf Loop Current and subsequently up the Atlantic coast and into the Gulf Stream. From Human Health Studies in Sarasota, FL to the undersea activities that take place at Aquarius in the Florida Keys, to our joint exploratory Cooperative Institute located in Fort Pierce Florida, including our Coastal Ocean Research and Monitoring Program in the Carolinas, UNCW is active in measuring ocean-related environmental episodes. By adding mission elements to the programs that address oil spill components on our regional coastline, UNCW is able to contribute with long-term historical databases and rapidly address a need for background environmental data as well as sampling for oil spill components in the Atlantic Ocean. All of our involvement is based on existing programs that can respond. • Red tide produces oil-soluble toxins that float on the surface • Black tide also has these characteristics • In water toxins cause: • Marine mammal deaths • Fish, bird, and invertebrate death • 10 tons/day/mile coastline fish death • Wave action aerosolizes toxins or debris • On-shore winds deliver aerosols • Aerosolized toxins cause: • Human respiratory distress • Animal distress • In-land transport of aerosols • Sensitive groups (ascending sensitivity): • Population at-large • Elderly • COPD • Asthmatics • Monitoring for oil and effects began May 27, 2010 • Tag-on to NIH program that routinely takes samples • Increased surveillance for oil residue and human effects • An example of existing program that is assisting, by design • Background of 11 years environmental sampling • Sample types are comparable to those needed for oil CORMP Coastal Ocean Research & Monitoring Program (NCSU, NWS, Caro-COOPS, SEACOOS, NOAA, SECOORA, COSEE, NCCOOS) DHHS, NIH, NIEHS Fund # 5P01 ES 10594 The program is a consortium of five research institutions, one Federal health agency, and one state health agency. Active for the past 11 years on Sarasota beaches, the project is intended to study the human health effects of aerosolized organic molecules that can be inhaled. The project took on an additional task of analyzing for oil spill aerosols and their potential human health impact. • NOAA Fund # NA16RP2675 • Weather observations & ocean currents • Salinity & water temperatures • Buoys transmit data via satellite in near real time • The Data is used to develop computer driven models to predict and describe storm surge flooding in the Carolinas’ coastal region. All elements are important for predicting oil movement NOAA Fund #NA08OAR4300863 Aquarius is an underwater ocean laboratory located in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The laboratory is deployed three and half miles offshore, at a depth of 60 feet, next to spectacular coral reefs. Scientists live in Aquarius during ten–day missions using saturation diving to study and explore our coastal ocean. Aquarius is owned by NOAA and is operated by the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Aquarius personnel are on the look-out for surface and sub-surface oil residues. • NOAA Fund # NA09OAR4320073 • The Cooperative Institute for Ocean Exploration, Research and Technology (CIOERT) explores and studies the nation’s ocean frontiers using innovation and cutting edge technologies. CIOERT explorers and technologists address NOAA priorities within the following research themes: • Develop advanced underwater technologies • Explore and research the frontier regions of the eastern U.S. Continental Shelf and Slope • Vulnerable Deep and Shallow Coral Ecosystems • CIOERT began a cruise track down the Atlantic coast on July 9, and will continue to collect samples around the tip of Florida and into the Gulf until Aug 7 AQUARIUS NOAA’s Undersea Research Center (NIUST, Four additional NOAA centers, NASA, logistics from Virginia to Texas) CIOERT Cooperative Institute for Ocean Exploration, Research, and Technology UNCW, FAU, University of Miami, SRI International